Collaborations

The Local Enterprise Authority has over the years signed project based Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with various Organizations, to strategically partner in enhancing delivery of services to various target markets.

Botswana Accountancy College (BAC)

The implementation of the LEA and Botswana Accountancy College (BAC) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is ongoing. Four LEA clients were identified to participate in the programme; Dobi Foods Pty Ltd, Art cultural Centre, Dips Motors and Sunrise Travel and Tours. A total of twenty (20) BCA student consultants were identified to work with these clients, to carry out diagnosis, identify challenges experienced by these SMEs as well as recommend measures to improve their operations and enhance their growth.

Department of National Internship Programme (DNIP)

LEA and the DNIP collaborated on the youth business mentorship initiative that aims at attracting young start-up entrepreneurs, who have the time and the energy to be mentored by existing businesses through on-the-job training. The entrepreneur is attached to the sponsoring company that they are in the same line of business with. The programme provides the youth an opportunity to learn necessary business management skills and prepare them to manage their own businesses in future. The DNIP identifies “would-be-entrepreneurs” and provides them with stipend during their year of mentoring. Fourteen intern officers have successfully been attached to twelve enterprises during 2014-15, and negotiations are on-going with nine more companies to host more interns.

National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) of India

LEA and NSIC collaborated on the development of the SMMEs in Botswana, and signed an MOU in 2014. The first project to be executed through this partnership is the Pilot Rapid Incubator, which will serve as a demonstration and training center on various technologies used to produce selected products. The three months incubation programme will also include capacity building on the incubates, assisting them to source and install machinery/equipment and raw materials as inputs to start their own businesses.

Centre for Development of Enterprise (CDE)

LEA and CDE have partnered in the framework of the Private Sector Development Programme (PSDP). The PSDP was initiated by BOCCIM in 2008 with the assistance of Commonwealth Secretariat and was meant to stimulate and sustain growth within the private sector through capacity building and improvement of the business environment for SMMEs to grow. The programme partners are CDE, European Development Fund (EDF), Ministry of Investment,Trade and Industry (MITI) and Channel Corporate Foundation (CCF). CDE serves as the executing agency for this programme. The Priority Sectors of the PSDP are manufacturing, agro industry and tourism, ICT, Construction and Public Works.

One hundred (100) SMMEs and Community Based Organisations (CBO) were identified as beneficiaries and they were audited by LEA Business Advisors, Botswana National Productivity Centre (BNPC) and Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH) amongst others.

Ministry of Youth, Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development (MYESCD) Project

LEA collaborated with the Ministry of Youth, Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development in order to assist the youth projects with training and mentoring. The initiative was prompted by the fact that many youth projects were either collapsing or struggling to sustain, as such, there was a need to partner with the Ministry to remedy the situation. The first phase of project implementation was to empower the youth officers with relevant skills needed in the business fraternity, and the second phase was to train and mentor youth beneficiaries so that the business survival rate is improved. As at March 2015, 295 youth officers had been trained on various courses namely business plan appraisal, project management and Entrepreneurship Development Training.